The whole of the Christian life can be summed up in these four words: love God, love others. Our Gospel reading for this Sunday holds a beautiful gem. Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment is this: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37-39). The thing is, God doesn’t ask us to love Him and others with our own weak, human hearts. He gives us His divine love that we can pour out to others: “We love because he first loved us (1 Jn 4:19).
Imagine a beautiful crystal pitcher (your heart) being filled with pure, clear water, even “living water” (Jn 4:10). Once the pitcher is full, its purpose is to be poured out to fill others’ pitchers (their hearts). If the pitcher just receives the water and does not pour it out, it does not fill its purpose. The water in the pitcher might become stagnant after a while. The love of God, His living water, His Holy Spirit, pour into your heart and you pour it out to God and others.
Now imagine what would happen if you tried to pour water (love) out to others with a dry pitcher. It wouldn’t work, would it? Our human love can only go so far. This is one reason that we can sometimes feel emotionally dry and spent. If we count on filling all the things that love requires of us without allowing God to fill our hearts with His love, we will soon run dry. We need God’s supernatural love to fill us continually in order to love others as ourselves.
This week, consider the ways that you love God with all your heart, soul, and mind. How does love look differently for each of these? Next, when do you sense God filling your heart with His love? Perhaps it’s at Mass when you receive Him in Communion. Or maybe it is during your quiet daily prayer or time in front of the Eucharist. Pay attention to the ways He speaks His Word of love to you. Finally, how do you pour your love back out to Him and others, fulfilling this greatest commandment?